Stuff Patients Have Smuggled onto the Psych Unit...
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I'm interested to know what kind of things you have found on your patients...
Here are some of mine:
Bullets
hypodermics
ropes
knives
a snake
cyanide capsule (discovered too late...pt's... Read More

Aug 21, '06

I've never worked in a psych unit, but I do work for a small town hospital that functions as the regional medical center. Many times the psych units are full so we must hold psych pts in our ICU until a bed becomes available at an appropriate facility. A paranoid schizophrenic was admitted during the night and placed on the med/surg unit until an ICU bed became available. The next morning an ICU bed was ready so he was transferred and I was assigned to the pt's care. The med/surg nurses had not searched him or searched his bag. I found a phillips head screwdriver and a chisel stuffed in the waist band of his jeans!

Aug 21, '06

I hope intake procedures have been changed appropriately for these things never to happen again.

I don't do psych, but as we all did take a semester of psychiatric nursing. Their intake was extensive. Totally undress, paper gown and body search by nurse with a witness of the same sex as the patient.

That cyanide incident is horrible. Why was the family member not brought back on charges. 747s fly both ways.

Aug 21, '06

A 'regular' psych patient was found with drug paraphenalia in her room as well as Vicodin, MS Contin, and Xanax. This patient was admitted for hydrocodone dependence.

Aug 22, '06

Not smuggled in, but a roll of $300 stolen from another pt. found in the obvious orifice of a female pt. We had $20 bill floating in wescodyne (disinfectant) all over the nurses station that night!

Aug 22, '06

I worked pysch for many years as a tech in a Baker Act receiving facility in Florida. We did extensive searches prior to entering the unit but we did once have a male patient sneak in a shank that was made in the county jail. During an arguement with another patient he pulled it out and began waving it and threatening others. After taking him down and condeming the weapon we noticed blood pooling on the ground. Apparently he had it between his scrotum and legs and when pulling it out left a nice 6 inch laceration that started near his anus and ran 1 inch into his scrotum. I have heard of other stories like families smuggling in drugs and patients taking their life but never witnessed anything like that first hand.

Aug 22, '06

Police bring suicidal pt into the ER. Per protocol, pt was searched before being placed in the back of the police car. Well we're all human and things can get missed, especially I suppose if the patient's fighting you every step of the way... A nursing student was transporting the pt from the ER to the psych ward. Pt says to student: If everyone thinks I'm suicidal then why are they letting me have this?! and pulls out a knife.

Aug 23, '06

Quote from Meerkat

I'm interested to know what kind of things you have found on your patients...
Here are some of mine: